Caster.



R. P. HERON & E. SABO.

OASTER.

APPLICATION FILED D110. 29, 1909.

Patented June 2, 1914.

2 sinus-SHEET 1.

R. P. HERON & E. SABO.

EASTER.

APPLICATION FILED 13120.29, 1909.

1 99,043, Patented June 2, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

"it TTHTQE;

ROBERT P. HERON AND EDMUND SABO, 0F SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

. CASTER.

To all whom it may concern Be 1t known that we, ROBERT P. HnRoN and EDMUND Sane, citizens of the United States, and residents of Syracuse, county of Onondaga, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Casters, of which the following is a specification.

Qur invention relates to casters and has reference more particularly to casters de signed for use in tubular legs. In such easters where spring retaining frames are employed it has been found desirable to prevent undue expansion or compression of the retaining frame. Our invention accomplishes these results effectively in a novel manner without the necessity of Inutilating the leg supporting disk or plate and in a way which strengthens the legs of the spring instead of weakening them.

To the ends above set forth we employ a leg supporting disk or plate which may be of the kind illustrated and described in the application filed jointly by us September 23, 1909, having centering means adapted to coact with the interior of the tubular leg, this centering means also acting as a stop for the free ends of the spring frame to limit outward movement thereof. This spring frame has its free ends offset to permit the springs to coact properly with the interior of the tubular leg and to form stops to coast with the annular centering means referred to and with the raised center of the disk or plate where this is provided.

Our invention therefore consists in the caster, embodiments of which are illustrated and described herein, and which is more partieularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a simple embodiment of our invention showing the complete caster. Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof, the spring retaining frame and disk or plate being shown in section. Fig. 3 is a top plan view. Fig. t is a horizontal section taken on the line 44, Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a front elevation mainly in section showing this embodiment of our invention in place in a tubular le Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of the invention in which movement of the free portions of thespring frame in both directions is limited. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the spring frame in this modifica tion, and Fig. 8 is a horizontal section through the entire device.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 29, 1909.

Patented June 2, 1914. Serial No. 535,4d1.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 5 which illustrate one embodiment of our invention, 1 is the horn in which the caster wheel 2 is mounted to rotate in the ordinary way; 3 is the pintle secured to the horn. it leg supporting disk or plate 4- surrounds the pintle. This disk supports the end of the tubular leg 5 adjacent its edge, and is provided with centering means 6 adapted to coact with the interior of the tubular leg. The disk shown in the first five figures is that illustrated in the application of Heron and Sabo, above referred to, although disks of other kinds may be employed. The disk shown need not be minutely described. lit is suflicient to say that this plate has a reinforced leg supporting edge and an upstanding centering flange formed by folding and drawing the edge of the blank from which the disk is made. This construction obviously stiffens the disk. To retain the caster within the tubular leg we employ a U shaped spring frame having its upper closed portion 7 near the free end of the pintle which passes through the frame and is headed above it and having legs 8 whose edges coast with the interior of the tubular leg to exert the requisite friction. These logs are preferably but not necessarily flat and have their edges acting in the manner stated. Each leg near its free end is bent on a line extending transversely across the leg, having an inwardly extending portion 9 located just above the top of the flange or other centering means. They are then bent down to form substantially vertical ends 10, the edges ofwhich coact with the inside of the flange 6 to limit outward movement of the legs. It will be observed that this construction is very simple and that the free ends of the legs are stiffened so that they are given great strength. It will be noted also that each leg coaets with the centering means at a plurality of separated points, these points being at the edges of the spring and thereby making the stop action uniform for the entire spring and reliable. Having the free ends of the legs of the frame offset inward makes it possible to use broad fiat legs.

Referring now to the modification illustrated in Figs. 6 to 8 it will be apparent at once that this construction embodies the ideas above set forth having corresponding parts which for convenience are designated by primed reference numerals as follows: The leg supporting disk or plate l, the 1nternal centering means 6, the spring frame cent aart of the disk as castin ma be employed. Between these two stiifenmg means, the raised portion and the centering flange, is a lower annular portion within which the lugs 12 on the free ends of the legs 8 move. These lugs are formed at each edge of the ends 10 by removing or omitting the material between thus enabling the ends of the legs to straddle the raised center 11. This construction is adopted to permit the use of a wide frame while allowing the requisite.

amount of play and without undesirable limitation of the size of the raised center.

It will be apparent that the entire edge or front corner at each side of the lower ends 10 and 10 need not in both forms coact with the flange or other centering means. Engagement between the said corners just below the fold and the inner edge of the top of the flange is sufiicient.

An important advantage of our invention lies in the fact that it does not necessitate any change in the leg supporting plate. An imperforate plate suitable for use either with center bearing or ball bearing casters may be employed either of the plates illustrated being capable of both uses. This is a consideration of practical moment since a plate of the given kind may be used with various forms of retaining means with or withoutthe stop features described above.

What we claim as our invention is 1. A caster for tubular legs having in combination with a wheel, horn and pintle, a leg supporting plate surrounding the pintle having an upstanding annular centering flange for coaction with the interior of the tubular leg, and an inverted U-shaped spring frame through a hole in the closed end of which the pintle passes and which has depending legs on opposite sides of the pintle provided with free ends over said plate within said flange and adapted to coact with the inside of said flange to limit their outward movement.

2. A caster for tubular legs having in combination with a wheel, horn and pintle, a leg supporting plate having a central hole to receive the pintle but otherwise imperforate, a spring retaining frame having its closed end near the free end of the pintle, said frame being adapted to coact with the interior of the tubular leg to retain the centering means and caster in position therein, and means on said leg supporting plate to limit the inward movement of the yielding part of the frame.

3. A caster for tubular legs having in combination with a wheel, horn and pintle, a leg supporting plate having a central hole to receive the pintle but otherwise imperforate, a spring retaining frame having its closed end near the free end of the pintle, said frame being adapted to coact with the interior of the tubular leg to retain the caster in position therein, means on said leg supporting plate to limit the inward move ment of the yielding part of the frame, and means also on said plate to limit the outward movement of said part.

4. A caster for tubular legs having in combination with a wheel, horn and pintle, a leg supporting plate surrounding the pintle and provided with annular centering means for coaction with the interior of the tubular leg, and a U-shaped spring frame straddling the pintle and provided with downwardly extending legs one of which has an inwardly offset free end within said 4 adapted to coact therewith to limit the outward movement of the leg.

5. A caster for tubular legs having in combination with a wheel, horn and pintle, a leg supporting plate surrounding the pintle and provided with annular centering means for coaction with the interior of the tubular leg, and an inverted U-shaped spring frame straddling the pintle and having the free ends of its legs within said annular centering means each of said ends being provided with a plurality of separated lugs for cooperation with said centering means.

6. A caster for tubular legs having in combination with a wheel, horn and pintle, a plate surrounding the pintle and provided with stops, and a spring retaining frame through a hole in the closed end of which the pintle passes and which has free ends stiffened by being bent on lines transverse of the legs and adapted to coact with said stops to limit the movement of the said ends.

7. A caster for tubular legs having in combination with a wheel, horn and pintle, a leg supporting plate surrounding the pintle and having an upstanding annular centering flange for coaction with the interior of the tubular leg, and an inverted U- shaped spring frame whose legs extend downward to a point adjacent the top of the said flange, then inward and then downward to form an end adapted to coact with the inside of the flange to limit outward movement of the legs.

8. A caster for tubular legs having incombination with a wheel, horn and pintle, a plate surrounding the pintle, a spring retaining frame straddling the pintle the legs of said frame having their free ends offset, and means on said plate to limit the move ment of the said ends.

9. A caster for tubular legs having in combination with a wheel, horn and pintle, a plate surrounding the pintle having stiflening means adjacent its edge and having additional stiffening means nearer its center, a spring retaining frame for coaction with the interior of the tubular leg, having legs which terminate between the said two stiffening means, and coact therewith to limit their own inward and outward motion.

10. A caster for tubular legs having in combination with a wheel, horn and pintle, a plate surrounding the pintle and having a raised center, a U-shaped spring frame straddling the pintle and adapted for coaction with the interior of a tubular leg, the free ends of the legs of said frame having a portion cut away to leave stop lugs for coaction with the raised center to limit the inward movement of the legs.

11. A caster for tubular legs having in combination with a wheel, horn and pintle, a leg supporting plate surrounding the pintle provided with centeringmeans for coaction with the interior of a tubular leg and with a stop nearer? its center, an inverted U shaped spring frame straddling the pintle and provided with free ends stiffened by being bent on lines transverse of the legs and adapted to coact with said centering means and with said stop to limit its own outward and inward movement.

12. A caster for tubular legs having in combination with a wheel, horn and pintle, a leg supporting plate surrounding the pintle and having annular centering means for coaction with the interior of the tubular leg and having a raised center, and an inverted U-shaped spring frame through a hole in the closed end of which the pintle passes and which has depending legs the free end of each of which straddles a part of the raised portion and has a pair of separated lugs located between the centering means and the raised center and adapted to coact with one to limit inward movement and with the other to limit outward movement.

13. A caster having in combination with a wheel, horn and pintle, a leg supporting plate surrounding the pintle and having an upstanding annular centering flange for coaction with the interior of the tubular leg, an inverted U-shaped spring frame straddling the pintle each of whose legs is provided with a lug adjacent each edge of the leg at its free end, said plate being also provided with stops located within the centering flange and said lugs being adapted to coact with said stops'to limit inward movement and with said flange to limit outward movement of the legs.

Signed by us at Syracuse, New York, this 29th day of October, 1909.

ROBERT P. HERON. EDMUND SABO.

Witnesses:

RAE E. KAPLAN, FRANK R. LENNOX.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

